Virat Kohli retired from Tests on Monday.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers opened up on the retirement of veteran India batter Virat Kohli from Tests. AB de Villiers said that he was surprised by the former India captain’s decision to call it quits from the longest format but admitted that all good things do come to an end.
Virat Kohli retired from Tests on Monday following a storied 14-year career in the longest format. “Yes, obviously surprised, we all are emotional. I mean, we wanted to see him play forever, right? That’s what we have in mind, this as fans,” de Villers said on JioHotstar.
Virat Kohli’s former Royal Challengers Bengaluru teammate briefly recalled the experience of playing with and against him. “I was a teammate of his for a few players, also played as an opponent against him on the field and you almost just over the years get used to him always being around. But all good things come to an end and he’s had a wonderful career and so much to celebrate. So we’re all just very proud of him and want to wish him the best for whatever he takes in the future,” he said.
AB de Villiers revealed that he and Virat Kohli had discussions as to where the latter was in his career. “We had a few discussions about where is Virat in his career over the last six to 12 months. I didn’t think it would get to a stage where he would call it quits. I did get a feeling that we’re not far away,” added de Villiers.
Virat Kohli made his Test debut in 2011 during a match between India and West Indies in Jamaica. He went onto become a threat to the opposition in the years that followed and took up Test captaincy in 2014 following the retirement of MS Dhoni.
As India’s Test captain, the Delhi cricketer guided India to a historic Test series triumph in Australia in the 2018-19 season. He also led India to the final of the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) where they lost to New Zealand.
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Virat Kohli finishes his Test career having played 123 Tests and scoring 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. He scored 31 half-centuries and 30 centuries in Tests.
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